Mediterranean living

Plant your own gorgeous exotic oasis here in London, says Guy Pullen

For hundreds of years we have sought horticultural inspiration from foreign climes. We only have to look at the nomenclature of our garden plants to see their exotic origins; plants that include the word japonica come from Japan, chinesis from China and americanum, unsurprisingly, from the Americas. With our ever-shrinking world it is perhaps not surprising that horticultural surprises are becoming rarer, but we still import ideas and plants in a way that would have shocked gardeners who have gone before.

The main import of recent years has been the result of a subtle change in our climate. The effects of global warming and the heat retention of our city mean we now live in a Mediterranean climate. Unfortunately, this is the horticultural explanation of ‘Mediterranean’ rather than the geographical or social one – so sadly we won’t be closing down the city for a few hours at lunch.

No, all it really means is that our minimum temperatures rarely reach 0°C. But that is enough to launch a new era for gardeners. The lack of real frost means we can grow plants that we used to think were too fragile for our climate and, secondly, we can keep plants that were formerly thought of as ‘annuals’ for more than one season. The first point is perhaps the most exciting as it allows exotic plants to thrive. Plants like bougainvillea, with its evocative cerise bracts, or plumbago, with its cool blue flowers, are classic examples of newly accessible Mediterranean plants.

But it is not just a sunny spot that we must think about when growing plants from warmer climes, but the ground through which the roots run too. Our cloying London clay would kill these beautiful climbers stone dead as sure as a sharp nip of frost would. So, when nurturing any plant, think of its origins and try to replicate them: so a plant from a picturesque Greek
village will require free-draining soil (and the occasional slug of Ouzo).

This is easy to reproduce in a large pot, but in the ground it can be more problematic. When digging the planting hole, dig deep to break through any soil pan that may have developed, then back fill with a new mix of the original soil, good compost, grit and sharp sand. This should promote drainage.

There are plenty of reasons to fear even a subtle change in temperature and our traditional gardening methods and plans may become obsolete as hot dry summers and turbulent winters combine to ill effect. But people will always adapt and if we can gain a few pleasures from our great undoing then these should be grasped with both hands!

Guy Pullen is the nursery manager at Clifton Nurseries 020 7289 6851